Merz, Frederiksen discuss Ukraine, security, migration, global trade
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin on Thursday. Topping the agenda for the two leaders was Russia's invasion of Ukraine, immigration bilateral ties and global trade and politics.
Commenting on recent Russian attacks on Ukraine, Merz stressed that anyone with a reasonably clear view must recognise that 'Russia is a threat to the security' of the entire NATO alliance.
As the NATO leaders' summit in the Hague nears, the German chancellor emphasised that 'Russia is a risk to security on both sides of the Atlantic.' Merz noted that the allies are set to discuss a 'historic' increase in defence spending at the summit in light of the threat the Kremlin poses to Europe.
'We will strengthen the European pillar of NATO together,' said Merz.
Frederiksen echoed a similar sentiment, as she highlighted the need to bolster the continent's defences as quickly as possible. 'We have to rebuild our European Defence Industry and of course the German Industry is key for us,' said the Danish leader.
'Rearm Europe, do it fast,' added Frederiksen.
The two leaders also discussed immigration, where they expressed similar views regarding the need to impose stricter policies.
'We cannot accept everyone who wants to come to Europe, it has to be a democratic decision who can enter our democratic societies', said Frederikse.
Chancellor Merz praised the migration policy of Denmark, saying 'What Denmark has achieved in recent years is truly exemplary and together we are also moving towards new and stricter asylum rules in the European Union.'
Regarding the repatriation of migrants, Merz said noted that, if necessary, 'there will also be corresponding changes to the legal basis'.
Merz and Frederiksen also spoke about the highly volatile and unstable global trade environment, exacerbated by US President Donald Trump's global tariffs, which have spiralled stock markets internationally.
The German leader welcomed the announcement of a new US-China trade deal, after the two nations agreed on a framework of a new deal to ease tensions and resolve trade disputes.
'I therefore welcome the fact that there has been such an agreement between America and China, and I very much hope that we will succeed in reaching similar agreements with America, for example regarding tariffs, in the near future,' said Merz.
The pair also discussed the ongoing threat to Greenland, after Trump renewed his interest in 'taking ownership' of the arctic island; an overseas territory of Denmark.
"The principle of the inviolability of borders is enshrined in international law and is not up for discussion,' said Merz. 'We stand closely by our Danish friends on these issues and will continue to do so.'
Frederiksen once again shot down Trump's remarks, insisting that Greenland is not for sale and its sovereignty is non-negotiable.
"Sovereignty of states, the territorial integrity, and by the way the future of Greenland can only be decided in Greenland by the Greenlandic people."
She added that she thought Trump was "serious" when it comes to Greenland "and I have to say that so are we."
VivaTech opened its doors this Wednesday in Paris, marking the start of Europe's most important tech and startup annual event.
With more than 165,000 expected visitors and nearly 14,000 startups from over 50 countries, the ninth edition of the event is set to be the biggest yet.
Just like last year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the star of the show. But this time, some of the most attention-grabbing innovations are those applying AI and tech to health care and mental well-being.
'Artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction to real-life application. And visitors will discover with the more than 13,000 start-ups what it is going to mean for business, for our everyday lives and our democracies," said François Bitouzet, Director General of VivaTech.
There is a geopolitical context that is incredible in which tech and AI play a role, and we will analyse this during the next four days," he told Euronews.
In a year marked by increasing geopolitical tensions and debates around technological sovereignty, Europe is looking to assert itself as a key player in AI innovation.
But the tech fair also serves as a platform to explore how this technology can help address deeply human challenges.
One such example is Emobot, a French startup developing an AI-powered tool that helps monitor mood disorders through a patient's facial expressions and voice.
'It's an app that is installed on the phone and on the computer. We analyse facial expressions every second while the patient uses their phone throughout the day," explained Antony Perzo, co-founder and CTO of Emobot.
"We also analyse their voice. Then, we aggregate this data to monitor for symptoms of depression. All this data, we put it together and then make a dashboard for the doctor that allows them to follow the evolution of the mood disorder symptoms," he told Euronews.
All this information is combined to generate a dashboard for doctors, allowing them to track the evolution of symptoms remotely.
'Psychiatry is one of the few disciplines where we can't visualise disorders. In other areas of medicine, we have MRIs or imaging tools. We wanted to create the first device capable of tracking and visualising mood symptoms over time. Think of it as a sort of thermometer for mental health', he said.
Another mental health startup, AMOI, blends neuroscience with perfume to shift a person's mood in just minutes.
Whether you're looking for focus, calm, energy or joy, AMOI claims its neuro-fragrances can deliver results within five minutes.
With more than one in four people reporting feeling mentally unwell, AMOI's founder Pascale Fontaine, says her project is about offering accessible and enjoyable tools for emotional well-being.
VivaTech runs until 14 June at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris.
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